Self-closing safety pocket



July 28, 1942.

NT'SLOBOTKIN SELF- CLOS ING SAFETY POCKET l 4 9 l 2 1 Y 1 u J d e 1 1 F Patented July 28, 1942 UNETED STATEg "1 FFIQE one-half to Aleck Leitman,

New York, N. Y.

Application July 12, 1941, Serial N 0. 402,162

6 Claims.

This invention relates to pockets and other receptacles and has for its main object the provision of a selfclosing safety pocket which affords security against the loss of the contents of the pocket even when the latter is inverted.

Another object of the invention is to provide a self-closing safety pocket which can be made of cloth or any other sheet material, an important feature of the invention in this connection resulting from the fact that the cloth or other sheet material of which the pocket is constructed can be relatively thin, light and flexible such as, for example, the cloth of which mens dress or sport shirts or womens dresses are made, although it will be understood that the pocket can be formed of heavier fabrics or materials if desired.

A further object of the invention is to provide a self-closing safety pocket which can be easily incorporated in or as part of a garment, for example, as the breast pockets of sport shirts, in the side pockets of trousers, in the watch pocket of trousers, in coats, vests, etc. It will be understood, however, that the pocket embodying the present invention can be formed as a separate article of manufacture, for example, for use as a purse,

The above objects of the invention and other objects which might hereinafter appear will be fully understood from the following description considered with reference to the accompanying drawing, it being understood, however, that the drawing is to be taken as illustrative of the invention and not in limitation thereof.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a pocket embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional View on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view of a mans sport shirt provided with pockets embodying the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on a larger scale on the line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a view of a trousers side pocket embodying the present invention;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing an other form of the invention;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Referring now to the drawing in further detail, the pocket It embodying the present invention comprises opposite sides I 2 and I4 formed of fabric or any other suitable material, and as 55 this purpose indicated above said fabric can be relatively thin and light. Said sides 12 and M are stitched together adjacent their outer edges by a line of stitching It following the contour of said side edges and are bound with a tape or finishing strip l3 secured in position by a line of stitching 28.

As indicated above the present invention resides p-rimarily in providing the pocket with a self-closing safety feature. This is accomplished by forming the pocket with the closure device which will now be described. Said closure device comprises fabric closure members 22 and 2d positioned inwardly of the pocket near the upper part thereof in confronting relation to each other and to the adjacent side Walls, respectively, of the pocket. As here' shown members 22 and 2 3 are integral with side walls l2 and l t, respectively, being folded inwardly from the top edges of said side walls. If desired, closure members 22 and 24 can be formed separately from said sides and stitched thereto. Said members 22 and 2 extend for the full width of the pocket and are preferably secured in folded relation by lines of stitching 26 and 23, respectively, near the upper edges of said side walls l2 and It. Members 22 and 24 are secured to each other at their opposite ends by stitching 38 spaced inwardly from stitching It, said stitching also securing the side walls I2 and Id to each other inwardly of tape is and, as illustrated in Fig. 1, following the edge contour of the pocket. It will be noted that the mouth of the pocket is formed between members 22 and 26 as indicated at 32 in Fig. 2, said mouth extending for the full width of the pocket.

By reference to Fig. 2 it will be observed that closure members 22 and 24 are provided with thickened portions 34 and 3S and that the thickened edge 3t of closure member 22 is disposed below the thickened portion 36 of closure member Said thickened portions are conveniently provided by folding the lower edge portions of closure members 22 and 24 around cords 38 and 39, respectively, said folded edges being stitched in position.

Provision is made for holding closure members 22 and 2 5 in taut condition laterally of the pocket whereby said closure members are releasably held in engagement with each other to maintain the pocket closed and yet are easily moved away from each other when it is desired to obtain acoess to the pocket to place coins or other things therein or to remove the contents thereof. For

in the preferred form of the invention disclosed herein e. spring 45 is disposed in the pocket in engagement with side walls 12 and I4 at the juncture thereof defined by the line of stitching 30. The upper ends 42 of spring 40 extend above the lower edge of closuremember 24 and are disposed in the space between the latter and the adjacent side wall 14. Said spring 40 is formed of spring wire or other suitable material and is dimensioned to exert tension at the opposite ends of closure members 22 and 24 thus to hold the latter in taut condition. Said spring when bent to conform to the inner peripheral edge of the pocket is U-shaped, as shown, and is stressed for placing members 22 and 24 and the side walls of the pocket under tension. Further, it will be noted that the spring is held in position by its pressure on the adjacent parts of the pocket, and that the upper stitched parts of the side of the pocket and the closure member between which the upper ends 42 of the spring are positioned aid in holding the spring in position.

It will be noted that closure members 22 and 24 and the confronting portions of side walls I2 and M, respectively, define recesses 44 and 46, respectively, which communicate with the space in the pocket below said closure members 22 and 24. and it will be noted that thickened portions 34 and 35 form a barrier between the interior of the pocket and the mouth 32 thereof. In the event that the pocket is inverted accidentally or otherwise the coins or other contents of the pocket are prevented by closure members 22 and 24 from passing out of the pocket and instead are directed to recesses 44 and 45. The position of thickened portion 34 of one of the closure members below the thickened portion 35 of the other closure member prevents the coins or other articles from passing between closure members 22 and 24 out of the pocket, itbeing understood that when the pocket is inverted any coin or other article therein will be defiected by closure member 22 and more particularly by the lower edge 34 thereof either into recess 44 or recess 45. On the other hand, when it is desired to place coins or other articles in the pocket or to remove articles from the pocket this can be readily accomplished by inserting the fingers in mouth 32 between closure members 24 for spreading said closure members apart sufficient to permit the articles to be inserted or removed from the pocket, or the pocket can be readily opened by pressing the opposite side edges thereof toward each other against the force of the spring which is, however, effective to automatically close the pocket as soon as the fingers are removed from between the closure members or as soon as the pressure on the opposite side edges of the pocket is released.

As stated above, the pocket can be used in various ways as may be desired. Thus, for example, the pocket can be used as a purse or, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6, the pocket can be provided as part of an article of wearing apparel. As shown in Fig. 4 a mans sport shirt S is provided with breast pockets IBB embodying the present invention. The pocket IOB is formed substantially in the same Way as the pocket I!) illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 with the exception that the side wall I413 is constituted by the front part of the shirt and the closure member 24B is formed from a separate strip of fabric. Side wall i413 and closure member 243 correspond to side wall l4 and closure member 24 of the pocket illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 and side wall [2B of pocket I53 and closure member 223 correspond to side wall l2 and closure member 22 of pocket 10. The thickened portions of closure members 223 and 24B are indicated at 383 and 393, respectively, and the spring for holding the closure members in taut condition is indicated at 4513, the spring being preferably the same as in pocket It and arranged in pocket I513 in the same way as in pocket Ill. As illustrated in Fig. 6, the self-closing safety pocket of the present invention can be formed within one of the usual garment pockets. Thus, as here shown, a pocket lil embodying the present invention is positioned within a side pocket P of a construction which is conventional in mens or boys trousers. Said selfclosing safety pocket can be mounted in position in said side pocket P in any suitable way and is here shown, by way of example, as secured in position by a fabric strip 48 stitched at its upper edge as indicated at 52 to one side wall 5!! of pocket P. For obtaining access to the safety pocket It it is merely necessary to insert the hand through the side opening 53 of pocket P and to insert two or three fingers through the mouth 32 of pocket It! for placing coins or other articles in said pocket or for removing coins or articles therefrom. It will be understood in this connection that pocket Hi can be formed as a part of the side pocket P in the same way as the pocket construction for a shirt as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. Further, it will be understood that a selfclosing safety pocket of the present invention can be formed as a watch pocket or can be provided in the side pocket of a coat or as a vest pocket, etc.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. '7 and 8 the self-closing pocket IBC embodying the present invention is constructed substantially in the same way as the pocket Ill illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 except that in lieu of thickened portions extending for the full width of the closure members, closure members 220 and 24C of pocket I50 have attached thereto at their outer ends spacer members 54 and 55, respectively. Said spacer members 55 and 54 overlap each other as illustrated in Fig. 8 and are held in this relation by the spring 450 which is preferably the same as the spring 45 in pocket 15. Said spacer members 54 and 55 can be formed of any suitable material, for example, felt or several layers of fabric. It will be understood that pocket [50 is, as stated, of the same construction as pocket It] except in respect to the use of the spacer members 54 and 55 in lieu of the corded edges 34 and 35 of pocket Ill.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my inventon, including several forms thereof, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise than as herein shown or described and that in the illustrated embodiments certain changes in the details of construction and in the arrangement of parts may be made. Thus, for example, instead of the spring 45 I can place flat springs of metal, Celluloid or other material at the lower edges of the closure members, said springs taking the place of the cords in the folded portions of closure members 22 and 24 although this is not as desirable as the U-shaped spring because flat springs tend to become bowed away from each other after the pocket has been in use for some time whereas the U-shaped spring 40 is effective for a long period or permanently to hold the closure members in taut condition. Also, it will be understood that while I have indicated that the pocket can be formed of relatively thin and light fabric it is within the scope of the present invention to form the pocket of leather or relatively heavy fabric or other material. It will be understood, however, that an important advantage of the present invention is derived from the fact that by the present construction it is possible to form the pockets of relatively thin and light fabric. It will be understood also that unless otherwise specified in the claims the term pocket covers not only garment pockets but purses, pockets for ladies handbags and other receptacles in which a self-closing safety feature is provided. Finally, it is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the construction as herein shown or described except as may be required by the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A safety pocket comprising opposed side walls and having a mouth for the insertion and removal of articles, self-closing closure means for said mouth comprising closure members disposed between said side walls at the mouth of the pocket, at least one of said closure members and part of the adjacent side wall forming a recess in communication with the interior of the pocket, one of said closure members having a thickened portion disposed below the other of said closure members for deflecting articles contained in the pocket into said recess when the pocket is inverted, and a U-shaped spring engaging said side Walls at the internal peripheral edge of the pocket for resiliently holding said side walls and said closure members in taut condition.

2. A safety pocket comprising opposed side walls and having a mouth for the insertion and removal of articles, self-closing closure means for said mouth comprising closure members disposed between said side walls at the mouth of the pocket, and a U-shaped spring engaging said side walls at the internal peripheral edge of the pocket for resiliently holding said side Walls and said closure members in taut condition, the upper ends of said springs being disposed between one of said closure members and the adjacent side wall.

3. A safety pocket comprising opposed side Walls and having a mouth for the insertion and removal of articles, self-closing closure means for said mouth comprising closure members disposed between said side Walls at the mouth of the pocket, at least one of said closure members and part of the adjacent side wall forming a recess in communication with the interior of the pocket, each of said closure members having a thickened portion extending for at least part of the width of the closure member to space the latter from the adjacent part of the adjacent side wall, the thickened portion of one of said closure members being disposed below the thickened portion of said other closure member, and a U-shaped spring engaging said side walls at the internal peripheral edge of the pocket for resiliently holding said side walls and said closure members in taut condition.

4. A safety pocket comprising opposed side walls and having a mouth for the insertion and removal of articles, self-closing closure means for said mouth comprising closure members disposed between said side walls at the mouth of the pocket, at least one of said closure members and part of the adjacent side wall forming a re-' cess in communication with the interior of the pocket, each of said closure members having a thickened portion extending for substantially the full width of the closure member, the thickened portion of one of said closure members being disposed below the thickened portion of said other closure member, and a U-shaped spring engaging said side walls at the internal peripheral edge of the pocket for resiliently holding said side walls and said closure members in taut condition.

5. A safety pocket comprising opposed side walls and having a mouth for the insertion and removal of articles, self-closing closure means for said mouth comprising closure members disposed between said side walls at the mouth of the pocket, at least one of said closure members and part of the adjacent side wall forming a recess in communication with the interior of the pocket, each of said closure members having a thickened portion extending for a part only of the width of the closure member to space the latter from the adjacent part of the adjacent side wall, the thickened portion of one of said closure members being disposed below the thickened portion of said other closure member, and a U-shaped spring engaging said side walls at the internal peripheral edge of the pocket for resilient holding said side walls and said closure members in taut condition.

6. A safety pocket comprising opposed side walls and having a mouth for the insertion and removal of articles. self-closing closure means for said mouth comprising closure members disposed between said side walls at the mouth of the pocket, at least one of said closure members and part of the adjacent side wall forming a recess in communication with the interior of the pocket, each of said closure members having a thickened portion extending for substantially the full width of the closure member, the thickened portion of one of said closure members being disposed below the thickened portion of said other closure member, and a U-shaped spring engaging said side walls at the internal peripheral edge of the pocket for resiliently holding said side walls and said closure members in taut condition, the upper ends of said springs being disposed between one of said closure members and the adjacent side wall.

NATHAN SLOBOTKIN. 

